No deaths or injuries have been reported and the event appears to be over (for now). The ash plume is now moving towards the East (away from Portland). Note that the dailywireless.org staff live in Portland, Oregon which is 35 miles south/southeast of Mt. St. Helens.

The US Geological Survey, in Vancouver Washington, has not yet reported on what caused this but reported that 3 out of 4 monitoring stations inside the crater are no longer working.